the u.s. senate, strong ministers in the cabinet around him. go for it, mr. president. good isn't great. great is great. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed shultz starts right now. good evening, americans. welcome to "the ed show" from new york. liberals, this is no time to get weak kneed about the fiscal cliff. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> we need senators warren and webb, bennett to continue to stand up for us. >> the air war begins in the fight for the middle class. senator bernie sanders, leo jir regard and barbara lee on the fiscal cliff developments. jim clyburn calls out the racial undertones. >> these are code words. >> karen finney is here with

reaction. congressman alan west finally calls it quits. >> we're not going to contest the certified results. >> the man who beat him joins me. and it's the world according to the fonz. >> there are two kinds of people. cool and nerds. >> tonight the legendary henry winkler on the traditional america and the reelection of president obama. good to have you with us. democrats have the upper hand in the fight for the middle class in this country. it's time to make sure that the party stays unified on the issue of debt reduction. bloomberg news reported on nervous democrats in the house and senate who were wary about pushing hard for tax hikes for the wealthiest americans. among them are seven senators up for reelection in 2014 in red state states. the centrist think tank gave

them ammunition with a polling memo showing most americans want compromise in washington. third way, what about the people's way? folks, compromise does not mean giving republicans everything they want and you know that paul ryan is going to be greedy when he comes to the table. the most important poll was taken on november 6th. the americans are on board for higher taxes for the wealthiest americans. labor groups have take on to the air waves to address the democratic lawmakers who are making the deal. >> how do we move our country forward? by creating jobs and growing our economy. not by cutting programs that families rely on most. we need senator mccaskill to continue to stand up for us. we need senators bennett and udall to stand up for us. we need senators warner and webb to continue to stand up for us by investing in job creation,

extending the middle class tax cuts and protecting medicare and medicaid and education from cuts. because for working families, it's all about putting americans back to work. not cutting the things we rely on most. >> this is just one part of the campaign to strengthen and support the middle class in this country. on a conference call last week, president obama made a direct personal appeal to 30,000 of his top campaign activists. he says it's not time to let up. the president told supporters he will barn storm across the country to keep people engaged in negotiations over the talks. the president's allies also plan on harnessing the power of the obama campaign including the dash board, a social network built by the obama team. the campaign manager says dash board helped win the election. it will now be used to promote the president's agenda. >> you could see people using dash board to say, okay, i want to talk about the choices in front of us in the fiscal cliff.

we did over 350,000 events on dash board. it would be easy for supporters to start asking people to call members of congress. >> the biggest assets is republican stubbornness. here's tea party senator rand paul addressing incoming republicans about the fiscal cliff. >> but the bottom line is it's a mistake to raise taxes on anybody we shouldn't in on it it. those who are new here, please hold the line. there's one compromise i would be in favor of and that's that all spending shub cut. we compromise enough to say let's look for waste in the military budget. the liberals have to compromise. >> despite losing the election, republicans still have a very much my way or the highway attitude about all of this. they have less leverage now than think ever had on this issue. "the new york times" reported on more defections from the

anti-tax pledge. peter king of new york is the latest who marginalized the number one conservative lobbyist in washington. king said "a pledge is good at the time you sign it. in 1941 i would have voted to declare war on japan. i don't think you can have a rule you're never going to raise taxes. or that you're never going to lower taxes. i don't want to rule anything out." you mean there's actually a level-headed republican in the house that wants to talk about this? republicans shouldn't rule anything out because the democrats are giving them one hell of a deal to go home with. the president has on the table right now, let's keep the taxes where they are for 98% of america americans. how can republicans not campaign on that? they are going to be able to go home and say, hey, i didn't raise your taxes. not if you're the 98% of americans. it's the top 2% that have to pay

more. they won't even buy into that in f if you listen to rand paul. the the democrats want to reinstate the clinton era tax rates. this would bring in $442 billion in revenue. they want to restore the estate tax level. democrats also want to reform on unearned income, which would total $465 billion. that's the mitt romney rate at 15% when you make a lot of money. the democrats want to change that. that's what the president campaigned on. the president is going to go out on the road and he's going to sell this. there was a clear distinction between the president and challenger. america has chosen the president. if republicans want to go against the tide, it's going to cost them in 2014. as a politician, you have to look at this. where is the country? but if you listen to rand paul. the idea logs are still out and

they are going to fight tooth and nail. it's time for liberals to realize the results, hold the line and don't back down. get your cell phones out, i want to know what you think tonight. tonight's question, who will americans punish for failing to reach a deal? text a for democrats, b for republicans to 622639. you can go to our blog and leave a comment. we'll bring the results later on the show. let's bring in senator bernie sanders. good to have you with us tonight. i have taken a couple phone calls already from democrats te telling me there's no perfect deal out there. well, we had a decision on november 6th and i thought it was clear. if there's no perfect deal out there, senator, what would you be willing to give up, or are you nervous about democrats caving in on tax hikes for the wealthiest americans?

we'll go there first. >> we saw this movie in 2010 and 2011 and what people don't understand is that despite the growing income, the wealthiest people did not pay a nickel more in taxes and yet we cut $900 billion in programs that the middle class and working families o of our country desperately need. that must not happen again in 2012. as you just indicated, mitt romney and the republicans ran on a program which says, do not ask the rich, do not ask large corporations to pay more in taxes. they lost. they lost bad. and what the democrats must demand is that we rescind the bush tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. furth furthermore, poll after poll make s it clear that the american people do not believe we should cut social security, medicare and medicaid.

they believe that the wealthy, large corporations should start paying their fair share of taxes. >> go ahead. last point. >> last point. just in terms of fairness, people on top are doing phenomenally well. over 90% of all new income went to the top 1%. median family income is going down. who is better prepared to help us with with deficit reduction? struggling working people or people on top doing well? >> that was answered on november 6th. the proposals will be coming in next week. what changes would you be willing to make to medicare because the republicans, you heard mitch mcconnell, you have to have entitlement reform to the republicans is cuts. that's what their entitlement reform is. would you do anything to medicare at all? >> sure. look, ed, what has to be

understood is are we not only the coup try that doesn't care to all people, we pay by far much more per capita for health care than does any other nation. it's a wasteful system. for example, in terms of medicare, republicans demanded as part of medicare part d that the medicare could not negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. the v.a. does that. why isn't medicare doing that? furthermore, if we develop efficiencies that save the system money, let's do it. but let us not cut benefits for the elderly or for the poor who are on medicaid. >> finally, senator, are you willing -- if the republicans can't do a deal, are you willing to allow all of the tax cuts to go? what will that do for the country? if the bush tax cuts completely expire, what's it going to do? >> well, i think no deal is

better than a bad deal. next session we're going to have more people, more democrats in the senate including some strong progressives. and the first piece of legislation i expect that harry reid would bring up in the senate would be to maintain the tax breaks for the bottom 98% and challenge the republicans to say no to that. >> senator bernie sanders, thank you for your time tonight. joining us now is leo gerard. how committed is labor to continuing the campaign for the president's agenda? is this just an extension of what you just went through? >> we're totally committed to this agenda. we had a conference call today where we're looking at what our strategy is going to be. as we said, our folks are ready and willing to start to talk to those senators. we'll knock on doors if we have to. but let me say a couple thing, ed. i think we're having part of the

the wrong debate here. this isn't a fiscal cliff. this is a slope. what we need to do is understand that the deficit is a long-term challenge and the best way to reduce the deficit is to get people back to work. right now, the price of money is cheap. you can almost get it for free. we should be investing in more economic development. >> so should this be part of the package? >> absolutely. what we need to do is -- i want to back up a bit. we're not raising taxes. the bush tax cuts were designed to expire. so we're saying let them expire. that's how they were designed. but not for the people under $250,000. you're not going to touch medicare unless you bargain on the price of drugs. don't damage the planned participants. but put money back into rebui rebuilding the infrastructure of america. put people back to work. the jobs that will be created

will lower the deficit instead of trying to beat up on poor people. >> the art of the deal, many people think the art of the deal has left washington and that this is going to be more stalemate prp you confident that democrats in red states will come around and hold the line and not worry about 2014? >> i think one of the things to look at is how much of the tea party crowd got defeated in the election whether it was allen west. they didn't get defeated because of their attacks, but because of bad policy and they were tying themselves to mitt romney. the president won the election by more than three million voters. and he won a huge majority in the electoral college. america has voted for his agenda. >> but you have democrats who are already nervous. they are quoting this third-way poll saying the country wants compromise. does that mean caving in? >> the best compromise is that

the republicans ought to start to understand that they are the ones that have caused this mess by trying to hold up the president's agenda for four years. democrats don't need to compromise. the president won on an economic agenda that included rebuilding the manufacturing base, fixing the infrastructure, letting the bush tax expire for the top 2%, and any democrat that gets weak knees on that isn't a real democrat. >> all right. great to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter @edshow and on facebook. some of the nation's most conservative economists think the republicans are wrong on this issue. breaking news on the hostess mediation. stay with us. t minute. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh...

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hostess has failed to make a deal to save 18,000 jobs. yesterday hostess told a bankruptcy judge it wants to fire 18,000 workers and sell off its equipment. the judge ordered hostess the company and mediation. the talks fell apart this afternoon. it's not surprising after years of mismanagement the company asked workers to sacrifice 20% of their wages. the company is $1 billion in debt. the company still wants the judge to approve $2 million in bonuses for top executives. the bankruptcy hearing will continue tomorrow and the judge will decide if the company can liquidate. coming up, the real casu casualties in the fiscal cliff face yuf. barbara lee will join me next. stay with us. twins. i didn't see them coming.

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welcome back to "the ed show." thanks for watching tonight. it's happening again. the millions of americans who have been hit the hardest by the recession are becoming a political pawn for the republicans. on december 2th, millions of americans could lose the only income they've got. emergency unemployment compensation. that's on the line. it will end if congress doesn't act. the republicans want to trim the budget and leave americans without a safety net. more than 12 million americans are still unemployed. 5 million have been out of work for more than 27 weeks. federal unemployment insurance helps them feed their families while they look for work. they are up against one of the worst job markets in decades. >> grew up with the idea, you work hard, go to school and keep working hard and life was going

to be okay. and it's just not true anymore. >> i know we have the unemployment office, but if there's not any jobs to have, they can't send them anywhere. >> keep hoping that, you know, the person next to me doesn't have it as bad as i do. >> the republicans want to go after it it. unemployment benefits aren't just a hand out, they are one of the most cost effective way to boost the economy. they will danger the economy if they don't renew benefits. cutting benefits would reduce it by $58 billion next year. unemployment benefits lifted more than 2 million americans out of poverty last year. 600,000 of them were children. extending unemployment benefits will help those families and help the economy. those benefit checks shouldn't be trade bait for the republicans when they come to the table to talk about how to move the country forward

financially. why pick on the most vulnerable? the republicans always seem to love to do that. joining me now is barbara lee of california. great to have you with us. i know you have personally worked hard on this and been an advocate for those less fortunate in our economy. are republicans going to hold unemployment hostage in these negotiations? >> i'm so glad you're focusing on this because of course, we have now, as you said earlier, so many people who will lose their unemployment benefits on december 29th. we have 2.1 million people who could lose these benefits. and i have to tell you, i hope that the republicans understand that many of these individuals are their constituents. unfortunately, during the last negotiations, unemployment benefits were reduced from 99 weeks to about 73 weeks. i could not support that.

i hope this time around that those who are unemployed are not put on the chopping block in terms of their benefits being cut. we have nearly 50 million people living in poverty, 16 million of whom are children. and we need to help people until we turn this economy around. this is a safety net. it's a bridge over troubled waters. >> it's not a bargaining chip? in the lame duck session of the congress, the republicans were willing to extend these benefits for one year to get two years of an extension to the bush tax cuts. is that off the table? >> i'll tell you one thing, let's hope that's not on the the table. i don't want to see the most l vulnerable, the working poor, in of these poem who are in the ranks of the poor are the working poor. we don't want to see people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer, the long-term unemployed, they do not need to be part of the game that's being played to get to some kind of an agreement. we need to make sure that they

are not a pawn in this and we do not balance the budget or, you know, move forward on this cliff. i call it a human cliff with them being at risk. so we have to make sure that the millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share and make sure the most vulnerable are protected. >> let me play devil's advocate here. a lot of things are ending up off the table here. the democrats want to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans. you don't want to hit social security, medicare or medicaid. where are you willing to give up? if unemployment benefits, if the weeks aren't going to be reduced, where would you suggest going? >> well, i have to tell you first of all, we can't go into cutting those who have already paid a big price for the last deal. we need to look at defense, ed. when you look at where we can e cut, there's billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse at the pentagon. when you look at the huge tax

cuts of millionaires and billionaires, we need to make sure we do not extend those tax cuts. when you look at the oil subsidies that oil companies received, there are many ways to move forward and stop this human cliff from occurring, but we do not need to go with seniors, we do not need to do this on the the backs of low-income individuals and the poor. it doesn't make any sense. it's not fair and it's morally wrong. >> i think it's morally wrong and it's not fair. there is a moral obligation to help the poor and those trying to recycle back into the economy. but do you feel confident that the democrats will hold the line for the less fortunate? >> i feel very confident the democrats will hold the line for the least fortunate. when you look at what's happening in our districts, we have people who are unemployed. we have the long-term unemployed. and we have people who want to work. we need to create jobs and invest or resources in job

creati creation. that's who you we turn the economy around and reduce the deficit. >> congresswoman barbara lee, thank you for join iin ining us. allen west finally calls it quits. tonight we're talking to the congressman-elect patrick murphy, the man who beat the tea party fire brand. then the attack on susan rice goes beyond politics. the republicans are getting back at some old habits and nasty name calling. we'll break their code when we come back. stay with us.

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we are back. tea party rock star allen west fought hard in an attempt to keep his house seat. it didn't work. he was granted a recount, but after the results came back, he lost by even a wider margin than before so today after two weeks of kicking and screaming, he finally called it quits. he did all of this over on fox news to concede. >> before you go off to thanksgiving, you have an announcement to make. >> yeah. good morning, happy thanksgiving to you and everyone. and we're not going to go forth and contest the certified results. we're going to move ahead and wish congressman murphy very well. >> he lost his house seat but he still thinks he's a leader. >> leaders don't need a title to

be a voice. >> west is right. failed republicans don't need a title to have a voice. they just have to go to work for fox news. so to help west gain employment, we put together his audition tape. >> you have this plantation that's been out there. the democrat party has taken the black vote for grant ed. now those people are upset because they have been disrespected. i'm here as the harriet tubman to lead the people away from that plantation. if you're feeding a person that crap sandwich with a smile, it's still a crap sandwich. >> we are against something that's a totalitarian, political ideology and it's called islam. >> we're creating economic dependency and i call it

slavery. >> are you saying maxine waters is the plantation boss at this point? >> well, absolutely. >> it looks like florida voters had enough-his rhetoric and sent him packing. he will still be around. i'm sure fox will book him allot. but i've asked him to come on this program, and he won't go face to face with me. joining me is patrick murphy of florida, who beat allen west for his house seat. congratulations, mr. murphy. good to have you on "the ed show" tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> you are exactly what republicans love to put up in front of a crowd. you understand small business. i have done some research on your background. what was the difference? did the rhetoric of allen west really put you in this seat? >> it was a few things. it started off with his rhetoric. that offended a lot of republicans. we were getting phone calls from republicans saying, we're tired of the tea party. we want someone with your

background as a small. business owner representing us. it was part of my campaign about showing the difference between us. but also talking about what i want to do going forward and why i thought i was the better candidate move iing this countr forward. >> one of the right wing talking points is that the democrats have put so many regulations on small businesses. i'd like you to speak to that. >> sure. when it comes to things like regulations. it's not about more or less, it's about smarter regulation. i spent four years as an a auditor. i have seen firsthand what works and what doesn't. my time cleaning up the bp oil spill, saw a lot of regulations there and what needs to be done to make those more transparent and easier for businesses to understand. unfortunately, there's such a big difference when it comes to regulations as to how they apply to the fortunate 500 companies and how they apply to the mom

and pops. >> you said in a debate that you would draw the line at $1 million when it comes to raising taxes. president obama wants people making $250,000 and more to pay taxes. that's a difference between you and the president. if the president asks for your vote, would you give it to him or hold the line at $1 million? where do you stand on tax revenue? >> sure, i have studied the tax code. unfortunately, it's riddled with loopholes and deductions. if we're going to be serious about making sure we don't fall off the fiscal cliff, we're going to have to really look at our tax code from scratch. and i said the million dollars because so many businesses out there want to keep that money invested in their companies. so that's why i have the line at $1 million. but if we're going to be serious, first thing i said is sit down with a republican and find that compromise to ensure that we move the country forward. >> but the president wants to

extend the bush tax cuts and the tax rate for the lower 98% income earners. you would be against that? >> i don't want to raise taxes on the middle class, but i'm more conservative than the president. so that's where i stand. i'm not saying i wouldn't compromise because there's a bigger picture at hand here. that's where i drew the line, but we have to do what's best for all americans. >> congressman patrick murphy, congratulations. there's a lot of people that are happy. good win. thank you. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. these kinds of terms that those of us, especially those of us raised in the south, we're hearing these words and phrases all our lives. we get insulted by them. >> congressman james clyburn says there's a racial aspect to the attacks on ambassador susan rice. michael eric dyson and karen finney will weigh in. scott walker kicks off the

block the vote campaign for 2016. >> we have to do more to protect the integrity of the vote. >> we'll tell you how the wisconsin governor wants to make it harder for wisconsinites to vote. and tonight we're talking politics with the fonz himself. >> eight years ago, i thought to myself, okay, we have this president, just give him a shot. now we can make it right. >> henry winkler joins us to talk about president obama's reelection and gop road blocks. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. you know it can be hard to lbreathe, and how that feels.e, [ male announcer ] sounds good. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms

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welcome back to "the ed show." nearly 100 republicans are spending their time targeting ambassador susan rice. senator john mccain actually insulted her intelligence. >> is this a select committee

clears her of wrong doing besides not being very bright because it was obvious that this was not a "flash mob"? there was no demonstration. there was none there. >> she's a graduate of stanford and also rode scholar. they claim she misled the public about the attack on the consulate in benghazi. rice was actually reporting the intelligence that she had been given. the republicans don't seem to care about the facts. they are worried that the president will appoint rice to be the next secretary of state. john mccain says rice isn't qualified. senator lindsey graham calls rice a political choice for ambassador and it's not a good resume to be secretary of state. 97 house republicans signed the letter to the president accusing rice of willfully or incompetently misleading the public. the republicans are using words like not qualified, not bright,

and incompetent. some democrats feel these words are actually code. >> these are code words. we heard them during the campaign. during the recent campaign, we heard sununu calling our president lazy, incompetent. these kind of terms for those of us who grew up in the south, we have been hearing these phrases all our lives and we get insulted by them. >> let's bring in michael eric dyson, author of the book "can you hear me now"? and karen finney, who will be guest hosting for martin bah sheer tomorrow afternoon. i'm looking forward to it. this is really down in the gutter. dr. dyson, are republicans using code words to attack the ambassador? >> very clearly so. this woman is an undergraduate of stanford, as you said.

a doctor of philosophy besides a scholar at oxford at the age of 26. so clearly she is an intellectually brilliant woman who is quite capable. it's ironic and tragic that john mccain, who nominated or at least put sarah palin on the ticket as vice president would dare call into question anybody's intelligence. sarah palin's intelligence could fit into the left fingernail of dr. susan rice. but beyond intelligence, there's a racial hostility that's unchecked here. and the aggression toward people of color here has been unleashed as a kind of compensatory aggression against obama's win. you see all this stuff going on. this is racial code words and we know the manipulation of racial feeling and sentiment here. >> nobody in the intelligence community has come out and said these things about rice. karen, what about this? why is she a target? >> i worked with dr. rice in the

clinton administration. she is a brilliant woman and a gifted diplomat. so take that off the table. here's the thing. even if the republicans are too stupid to understand that after having just lost an election largely because of -- they lost the woman vote, they lost the young vote, they lost the african-american vote, that taking on a woman of this level of credentials in a hearing with mostly white men, a relatively young african-american woman, it's just a bad idea. and particularly given that she is very well qualified and given that these are also people who tried to say as dr. dyson said, palin and harriet meyers were qualified. here's what's so infuriating on this. these guys all have the exact same intelligence. they knew that there was a cia operation operating out of that

facility and that potentially that's part of why there were certain things that had to remain classified. they knew it. so this whole game is all the more politicized. it makes it seem like they just don't want this dynamic woman to rise any higher. >> here's marsha fudge. she had reaction to the attacks on rice. >> susan rice's comments didn't send us to iraq and afghanistan. somebody else's did. but you're not angry with them. it's a shame that any time something goes wrong they pick on women and minorities. i have a real issue with. for you who are haters, your hate is going nowhere. >> dr. dyson, does john mccain hate susan rice? >> well -- >> i mean when he says she's not qualified and questions her intelligence, your thoughts? >> well, there's no question hate is used as a metaphor to

talk about stern resistance and opposition. in that sense, of course, he's haiting on her. i'm not speaking personally as a human being, but it's more disturbing that despite her intelligence, the pedigree of her scholarly achievements and the way she's moved in several administrations to act in a very powerful fashion to represent her diplomatic community, what else can you conclude but the fact that he's trying to go after her because as karen said, she's a woman and black and given that they have not done very well, the republicans with this group, it seems pig headed for them to go after this particular woman who is the representative of the best possibility of american diplomacy being carried on in the absence of hillary clinton. i think we should be quite clear about that. >> the other thing, think about this. the president of the united states -- this also goes to this deep resentment i think a lot of us have about the lack of respect they have shown the

president. the president addressed this issue. he was clear about what happened. then susan rice came out and talked about what happened. when did the gop change their tune? after they heard from general petraeus. they should have taken the word of the president. >> karen finney and michael eric dyson, great to have you with us. governor scott walker has tried it before and he wants to try it again. voter suppression. just days after the election, he's back at it. we're back. we asked real peoe what they thought. take a deep breath for me. describe the smell. it's very pleasant. fresh. some kind of flower maybe? remove the blindfold... awww, oh yuck! i didn't smell any of that! febreze air effects doesn't mix, it actually removes odors. [ laughs ] wow, that's incredible. just another way febreze helps you breathe happy.

we got a lot of response on twitter and facebook about the plan by the workers of walmart to strike at a thousand stores on black friday. we had mary ann say, i wish them the best. hope it opens up some eyes and shut some mouths. kevin comments, i always buy everything at walmart on black friday. not this year. and bennie writes, don't give up. the waltons can afford it. keep sharing with us your

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welcome back to "the ed show." with the election barely over, scott walker of wisconsin was making it clear he will take another crack at voter suppression. he's at the reagan library throwing out a little red meat. >> states that have same day registration have problems because they have wonderful volunteers who work 13-hour days. they just it's difficult for them to handle the volume of folks who come at the last minute. it would be better if registration was done in advance of election day. it would be easier. >> it's about voter integrity, but it's really about turnout. he wants to change the system because late turnout favors democrats. 87% on election day. wisconsin same day registration law goes back to 1976.

it's a proud tradition of the state. it helps college students, minorities and poor people participate in democracy. walker hasn't given up on another form of voter suppression, his voter i.d. law. >> i signed into law last year voter i.d. as you might guess it's stuck in the courts as is often the case. but we will prevail. we didn't have it before the november election, but we will have it in the future. >> really? governor walker your law was struck down by a court for a good reason. if you and your fellow republicans insist on round two, i'll speak for senator fred riser tonight, it will be met with opposition and justice because that's what wisconsin is all about. tonight in our survey, i asked you, who will americans punish for failing to reach a deal if that's the way it goes down? 4% say democrats, 96% say republicans. coming up, actor henry winkler like you have never seen

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what makes me think i'm so cool? ♪ >> that makes me think i'm so cool. >> and in the big finish tonight, henry winkler, the

fonz, is an american icon. cool guy and a heart of gold. something the fonz and winkler share in common. since winkler made it big, he's appeared on broadway and he's currently working on three television shows. in addition to acting, he's the author of 25 children's books and has been recognized for his contributions to education. winkler donned the fonz jacket back in 2008 when he joined forces with ron howard to create this call to action. >> i'll tell you something. eight years ago, i thought, okay, we have these presidents, just give them a shot. was -- i was so -- >> you were wrong, fonz? >> okay, that's the word. but now we can make it right, right? >> joining us is henry winkler

whose show "royal pains" remeres with a two-hour movie event on december 16th. i have made it into minnesota to have you on the program. >> i'm so happy to be here. >> you have done so much in your career and you have been so unselfish and been committed to education and writing these books. that takes a lot of energy and a lot of passion. >> well, first of all, i never knew i could write a book. and i write with my partner lynn, but we write come dis. i had no idea it was going to be so far reaching. and the greatest compliment is when children say, how did you know meso well? here i am. i'm one of you. >> you're into politics. you follow it. how important was this election? how connected were you to the decision? >> this election seemed to be very important. i voted for a man, whether or

not he was able to accomplish everything that he talked about his first term, i truly believe he's the man who cared about the 300 million people in the borders of america as opposed to a very few friends in maybe the city he lives in. >> in that 47% comment, did that strike a nerve with you? >> practically i was very happy he said it because i believe that it very much helped the cause of our president. on the other hand, it is very sad that the worst word in the eng lish language is beholden because these men are beholden to somebody other than the population that they are supposed to take care of. >> there's a statue of you in milwaukee.

>> yes. >> taller than i am. it's a problem. >> that's where happy days was. so you know the culture of the state. >> yes. >> and you know how important workers rights were in all that state has gone through. with that, can we rebuild the middle class? >> i believe so, but it does not depend on the government. it does not depend on one man, the president. if we're really interested, it depends on us, the population taking the country and saying, you know what, we want to go in the direction where we are going to take care of the middle class. >> the republicans are climate change deniers. >> right. >> young kids aren't. >> right. i have a broadway play that just closed and it closed because of a hurricane. a hurricane, the likes of which, the city that we're in at this moment has never known. and i was born and raised here.

mother nature is really angry. and the fact is, there is such a thing as -- that science cannot be denied. >> and where does that leave the republican party then? >> it leaves them in, i believe, the republicans are not all outrageous. and i believe that they are now going to have to relook at who they are, what they believe and who they think they are taking care of. >> can president obama have a successful second term? >> i think that he has learned a major lesson and i believe that he can have a very successful second term if he now -- he's got nothing to lose. now he does not have to make nice with anybody. >> henry winkler, great to have you on the program. come back again. >> i hope i made sense. >> you made a lot